I think I'm losing my mind.

[marinewife05]

This is going to be strange, but I need to tell someone. I told my husband, but he didn't really care, much less have anything to say.

Last night I had a disturbing dream. In my dream I had died and was no longer on this earth. I can't say it was Heaven as I obviously have no idea what that is like, but it was somewhere...Elysian Fields, Limbo, Heaven...I don't know. I felt very at peace there. Then I was brought back to life (in my dream) and no one would tell me how I died or how long I had been that way.

Then I woke up for real and saw a man standing on my husband's side of the bed. At first I thought it was my husband until I looked and saw him lying next to me. I know it was a man because he was shirtless. I reached out for him and he was gone.

What the heck is happening to me?

I'm having a procedure on Monday and they are putting under partial sedation...so maybe it's anxiety? I also take Ambien to help me sleep so I guess I could have been hallucinating.

I guess I just need to know I'm really not going crazy.

 

[sarahp]

I would say a combination of anxiety and Ambien - Ambien is a pretty strong medication. How long after taking it did you see the person?

 

[marinewife05]

Originally Posted by sarahp

I would say a combination of anxiety and Ambien - Ambien is a pretty strong medication. How long after taking it did you see the person?

I want to say about 5-6 hours..it was around 4 in the morning.

 

[natalie_ca]

When you say you woke up for real, you really didn't. There is a name for it, but I forget what it is.

Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I swore that I was awake when I saw and heard things, but turns out that it was part of my sleep disorder.

 

[kscatlady]

I've hallucinated on ambien before.

 

[c1atsite]

Originally Posted by kscatlady

I've hallucinated on ambien before.

So have I

(for over 28 hours. Don't ask. It was beyond dreadful

) and what I was experiencing felt so real I still get weirded out thinking about it.

I even remember the date it happened (began 8/24/05 and carried over into 8/25/05)

I probably should add that I was, without question, overusing Ambien that summer on top of being in a state of not-so-great health.

Now I avoid it like the plague.

Question for the OP - If you dont mind me asking - You're not overtaking it, are you? I was told it is to help people sleep through the night, contrary to what a lot of people think which is Oh, it helps you *fall* asleep...this is wrong based on what i was told but so many people think that's what Ambien's for - I did. Again, I was told it's to help people sleep through the night without interruption. Just saying this as an FYI to you or anyone who's reading this. If you've heard differently about Ambien, please correct me.

 

[marinewife05]

Originally Posted by c1atsite

So have I

(for over 28 hours. Don't ask. It was beyond dreadful

) and what I was experiencing felt so real I still get weirded out thinking about it.

I even remember the date it happened (began 8/24/05 and carried over into 8/25/05)

I probably should add that I was, without question, overusing Ambien that summer on top of being in a state of not-so-great health.

Now I avoid it like the plague.

Question for the OP - If you dont mind me asking - You're not overtaking it, are you? I was told it is to help people sleep through the night, contrary to what a lot of people think which is Oh, it helps you *fall* asleep...this is wrong based on what i was told but so many people think that's what Ambien's for - I did. Again, I was told it's to help people sleep through the night without interruption. Just saying this as an FYI to you or anyone who's reading this. If you've heard differently about Ambien, please correct me.

I take one per day at bedtime as directed by my doctor. But I take regular 10mg Ambien, not Ambien CR which is the controlled release formula.

 

[dave_ph]

Definitely and a bunch more characters to reach 12

 

[sarahp]

Particularly if you were only asleep for 5-6 hours. Those things take a good 8 hours to stop being effective. So you probably felt like you were awake, but still in a half dreamy state. My professional opinion is that you're not crazy

 

[marinewife05]

Originally Posted by sarahp

Particularly if you were only asleep for 5-6 hours. Those things take a good 8 hours to stop being effective. So you probably felt like you were awake, but still in a half dreamy state. My professional opinion is that you're not crazy

This makes me feel a lot better.

Thank you!

 

[spudsmom]

Whoa! I have some pretty vivid dreams from the anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds that I take. I had thought of asking my Dr for Ambien before he put me on Trazadone, thankfully that did the trick. I don't think I could handle Ambien from what I'm hearing.
Sometimes my dreams are REALLY bizarre but mostly very entertaining. My DH likes me to tell him my crazy dreams.

 

[kara_leigh]

How strange! I would be freaked out also. I don't think you are crazy, but also don't think you were necessarily "hallucinating". I would also guess that you were still in a "dream like" state. There has been quite a few times where I thought I could have sworn I was fully awake but I was still asleep. I have even had full "conversations" with my husband in these states, but he insists I was just dreaming.

Have you been taking the Ambien for a while?

I used to see things when I first started taking Ambien, like the carpet would swirl around, and the soap scum on the shower door would move around and look 3D, but I have never hallucinated while on it. I've now been taking it on almost a daily basis (I only take it on the nights before I have to work so I fall asleep and stay asleep, otherwise I don't care) for well over a year and I don't experience anything like that anymore, other than it puts me to sleep. The only reason I asked about taking the Ambien for a length of time is b/c I think my body is just used to it now, so I that is why I don't experience those things anymore.

The problem that I have with sleep is that my brain won't shut off and I can't get to sleep...and when I do finally get to sleep I wake up multiple times. So, I have both problems at once. lol It's very rare that I get a full night sleep if I don't take my Ambien.

 

[chinacat]

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

When you say you woke up for real, you really didn't. There is a name for it, but I forget what it is.

Before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I swore that I was awake when I saw and heard things, but turns out that it was part of my sleep disorder.

I suffer from a form 'sleep paralysis', I suffered really badly when I was a teenager and it gets worse at times of stress. I used to think I was awake and I used to see figures at the end of my bed. It's very strange, sometimes I'm convinced I am awake but I'm not. I used to think I was mad or seeing ghosts!
From what other people have posted it is a reaction to the drug you're taking. It can be pretty scary though.

 

[ldg]

I had no idea ambien could make you hallucinate! Gary tried ambien and lunesta and they just didn't help him at all. His problem is both falling asleep and staying asleep.

I have had really strange dream experiences - but not with use of ambien or drugs or anything. It was just that it was a "dream-within-a-dream" - only four levels deep!

I kept "waking up" and thinking I'd actually woken up - only THAT was part of the dream too - meaning I'd get out of bed (in my dream), walk out into the apartment, get caught up in this new strain of dream - and then abruptly "wake up" again - only, as it turned out, I was STILL dreaming. I had to wake up four times before I ACTUALLY woke up the fifth time. I remember each of the "dreams" too. It was totally bizarre (and exhausting!

). The weirdest is that each time I "woke up" I looked around - though "wow that was wild," and got up (in my dream) like I would in real life....

When I first read your post, I was wondering if it was one of those because I didn't know about the ambien.

 

[threecatowner]

I never took a sleeping pill in my life, but I kinda know what you're talking about. I used to wake up and SWEAR there were bugs or spiders crawling on the ceiling above me. (I'm terrified of both) I'd even "see" the spiders coming down on their web, and I'd jump the heck out of bed and turn on a light. NEVER, EVER was anything there. Yeah, it was freaky. For some reason, when I got married, it stopped. I guess I felt safe then? Who knows, but I'd say anxiety is definitely playing a part in your experience.

I hope everything goes well with the procedure you have to have done...